Establishing a comprehensive international space traffic regime is critical to unlocking the value of the future space economy, agreed a panel of regulatory experts at SATELLITE 2018. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated the space industry will grow from $350 billion today to more than $1 trillion by 2040.
Jennifer Warren, vice president of technology policy and regulation for Lockheed Martin, said any regime must be holistic. “Space sustainability is … a number of different dimensions. All of that goes toward creating an investment environment we hope will be hospitable for not only the existing space-faring nations, but future commercial activities in more nations.”
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Kenneth Hodgkins, director of space and advanced technology for the U.S. State Department, said the space community has “institutional schizophrenia.” “There are nanosatellites being launched — by India, by France — that we’re not entirely clear have been properly authorized and supervised under the Outer Space Treaty.” He said: “It’s not fair and it’s not sustainable” to have U.S. operators held to different standards than international peers.
Jennifer Manner, Echostar’s senior VP of regulatory affairs, emphasized flexibility: “We can’t sit here today and foresee every use case and application. We need to think about things that are unpredictable.”
Manner outlined three elements for a successful regime: covering all objects regardless of orbit; a dynamic, upgradable framework; and including debris mitigation, data sharing, and organizational oversight.
UNOOSA Director Simonetta di Pippo announced the upcoming Unispace+50 gathering in Vienna, which “will be a turning point in terms of being more supportive of the interests of all member states, in particular developing countries.” VS
